The labor market across the EU slightly recovered in the fourth quarter of 2020. The employment rate of people aged 20-64 stood at 72.6% in the fourth quarter of 2020, which represents an increase of 0.3 percentage points (pp) compared with the third quarter of 2020.
The labor market slack, which comprises all people who have an unmet need for employment and of which one of the main components is unemployment, amounted to 13.7% of the extended labor force aged 20-64 in the fourth quarter 2020, down from 14.1% in the third quarter 2020 (-0.4 pp), reads the recent data of Eurostat.
Changes in the employment rate between the third and the fourth quarter of 2020 varied across the EU Member States. The highest increases were recorded in Luxembourg (+2.1 pp) and Estonia (+1.2 pp). While employment rose in 18 EU Member States, five recorded a decrease: Slovakia and Belgium (both -0.3 pp), Austria (-0.2 pp), Hungary and Cyprus (both -0.1 pp).
